How to report an issue?

How does someone report a specific issue to the appropriate MS OS maintenance
team?

I get an error that says "This application has requested the Runtime to
terminate it in an unusual way. Please contact the application's support team
for more information."

Specifics:

I get the above error when playing the game Half-Life 2: Episode One.

After an exhuasting search I found what appears to be the answer I needed on
the Steam website, which is to install a hotfix from MS. The problem is that
the fix is not available for the x64 version of Windows XP Pro, but it is
available for just about every other version. So naturally I would like to
direct Microsoft's attention to this issue. But how does one do that?

What follows is my conversation with several CS agents so far after filling
out the original hotfix request form...

The information you have requested, the hotfix article number and the
product name, are both contained in the original hotfix request I submitted,
as evidenced above. However I will endeavor to provide you as much info as I
can.

When I reach a specific point in the game Half-Life 2:Episode One the game
crashes and displays the exact error message as is mentioned here...

The hotfix described in 884538: â€œYou receive a "This application has
requested the Runtime to terminate it in an unusual way" error message when
you run a custom Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 program in Windows XP" applies only
for Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2, when used with:
Â· Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Â· Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

I also would like to inform you that the hotfix is available only for X86
platform for English language.

Please assist us by providing the exact hotfix article (E.g., KB895477), the
platform, and the product (E.g., Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2,
Windows Server 2000 Service Pack 4 etc.) in which you would like to install
the hotfix. As soon as we receive clarification from you, we will process the
request.

I hope your issue is resolved at the earliest and appreciate your patience
in this regard. Meeting and exceeding your expectations are my top
priorities.

The platform for the hotfix article ID 884538 is unavailable in Microsoft
Knowledge Base.

I have included some self-help resources that may address your issue, and
information on how to contact Technical Support. If the self-help resources
that are provided do not resolve your issue, or if you prefer assisted
technical support, you can contact the technical support team directly at the
URL that is provided below.

Assisted Support:

You may work with a Microsoft Support Professional via e-mail, telephone,
and for some products, chat to resolve your issue. Depending on how you
obtained your software, there may be fees to use the Assisted Support option.
Please visit the following link and select the appropriate version to contact
the Support Team:

I'm not sure what you mean by "The platform for the hotfix article ID 884538
is unavailable in Microsoft Knowledge Base".

Do articles need platforms? And does the knowledge base normally contain the
platforms that these articles need?

I've already found the prescribed solution to my problem in article 884538,
which is to request the hotfix from you.

What I'm trying to clarify now is whether or not it is available for my
version of Windows.

And if it's not, that would seem to be an issue of neglect on the part of
Microsoft's OS maintenance team. So I'm asking you to help me by forwarding
this to the appropriate department or escalating the matter to a higher level
of customer service.

I paid for my version of Windows and it deserves the same attention as the
other versions which have received the benefit of this hotfix.

I would like to inform you that Hotfix is based on platform, hotfix only
provided according to the Platform.

The hotfix ID you have provided is applicable only for 32bit platform and it
is not applicable for 64bit.

I suggest that you contact Microsoft Support Professional via e-mail,
telephone, and for some products, chat to resolve your issue. Depending on
how you obtained your software, there may be fees to use the Assisted Support
option. Please visit the following link and select the appropriate version to
contact the Support Team:

Microsoft Customer Service Representative
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
end of conversation

The trouble is that all of the "Self Help" options, other than this one,
require that you pay a minimum of $60 just for the privilage of reporting
your problem, which just seems un-American to me.

The MSDN option doesn't seem appropriate because it's not a developer issue,
but even if it was you need a paid subscription just to be heard by them as
well.

It seems clear that MS farms out it's Hotfix request load to Indian CS
centers that can't or won't deal with issues that involve more than searching
the Knowledge Base for you.

So to recap: There is a problem with the Operating System. Mocrosoft knows
about it. They've provided a fix for their other products. Now, as a paying
customer, I'd like to know by what means I may direct their attention to the
missing fix for my system.

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